Many developed areas of the world suffer from traffic congestion. There are many reasons for the increasing traffic congestion and there also exist ways to control it. However, can traffic substantially be controlled by simple cost effective means? This essay will discuss the main reasons contributing to traffic congestion and also suggest ways to curb it.
There are two main factors contributing to road traffic. They are overpopulation and lack of efficient public transport. Firstly, overcrowding of cities causes increase in the number of on-road vehicles. This directly causes issues with the efficient and effective movement of traffic. For example, overcrowded cities like Bangalore frequently present with traffic congestion. Secondly, lack of good public transport causes people to opt for private vehicles, which are often expensive and difficult to maintain. Since more vehicles with vacant seats are seen in this case, there is substantial increase in traffic. For instance people driving to work in individual cars instead of taking a bus contributes to vehicular traffic.
Nevertheless, crowded cities can be managed by urbanizing more rural areas and encouraging people to occupy them. This can be done by developing planned infrastructure with good connectivity. This can help cut down on the concentration of traffic in some cities by spreading both people and traffic evenly amongst greater areas. For example, a recent study done by Harvard suggested that controlling population explosion by rapid urbanization can help manage traffic congestion. Investing in public transport is another way of remedying traffic congestion. Procuring and providing better quality and affordable public transport can encourage more individuals to opt for it, thereby reducing the number of private vehicles on the road. For instance, a recent poll suggested that people prefer driving private cars because of the lack of good and affordable public transport in Mumbai.
In conclusion, traffic congestion appears to have become a major concern in many cities. Although, overpopulation and unavailability of quality public transport cause a substantial increase in vehicular traffic congestion, there are ways to control them. Development of more areas to control overpopulation and enhancement of the connectivity and quality of public transport can help control traffic congestion. Hence, this essay has discussed the main causes of traffic congestion and suggested some solutions to control it.